August 19, 2008

The Morning Wrap

Discriminating Doctors: The California Supreme Court Monday unanimously ruled that doctors can't invoke religion to refuse treating homosexual patients, three months after the court approved same-sex marriage, The Recorderreports (via Law.com). Doctors, like other professionals, are bound by state law prohibiting discrimination based on sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition or sexual orientation, the court ruled.

Explain Yourself: A federal judge on Monday ordered the CIA to explain why he shouldn't hold the agency in civil contemp over the destruction of videotapes in which high-level al-Qaida detainees were interrogated abroad, the New York Law Journalreports. The Southern District of New York's Judge Alvin Hellerstein said at a hearing that he would give the government 10 days to produce a declaration saying why the judge should refrain from ordering production of a list of the tapes, information on witnesses and any documents or memoranda relevant to the Freedom of Information Act request of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Extradition Problem: Colombian authorities say U.S. extraditions are throwing their investigations into paramilitary crimes into disarray, The Washington Postreports. Fifteen top paramilitary commanders have been extradited to the United States, and Colombian investigators argue that the United States is cutting off their best sources of information about paramilitary groups, whose death squads killed thousands.

Combat Case in Court:The Wall Street Journalpreviews the trial of a former Marine Corps sergeant who faces manslaughter charges for allegedly participating in the Fallujah killings in 2004. Jose Luis Nazario, who left the Marines in 2005 with an honorable discharge and a medal of valor, was charged by civilian prosecutors in a federal court in Riverside, Calif, under a little-known law that allows U.S. courts to pursue overseas combat crimes that were traditionally beyond their grasp. The trial is scheduled to begin today.